Archive for July 13th, 2010

M & Co hits Hunstanton’s High St

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

M & Co logoThe well known High Street fashion store M & Co opened its doors in Hunstanton’s High Street in the former Woolworths building on 19 June.  The shop was formally opened by Mayor Peter Mallam, accompanied by Deputy Mayor Carol Bower.  Shop Manager, Yvonne Starr, and her staff were duly welcomed to the town but the traditional ribbon cutting ceremony and the doors were thronged by more than a hundred customers eager to check out the new shop.

Shoppers were provided with refreshments and discount vouchers on their maiden visit.  I may have missed the actual opening but I popped in for a look myself at the weekend and found a fresh clean, quality shop floor with a colourful array of clothing for children and adults as well as items for the home which I am sure adds the just the right tone for Hunstanton’s High Street and goes a long way to fill the gap left by the abrupt departure of Woolworths.

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Norton Hill Light Railway – dates for Summer 2010

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

The fantastic Norton Hill Light Railway in Snettisham is up and running once again this summer to the benefit of more local charities as all proceeds go to worthy causes.  Dates for this year are:

Sat & Sun, 31 July and Aug 1st (Rotary Club of Hunstanton & District)
Sat & Sun, 14 and 15th Aug (Kings Lynn Round Table)
Sat & Sun, 28 and 29th Aug (Kings Lynn Lions Club)

Norton Hill Light Railway

Norton Hill Light Railway courtesy Mike Schumann

Background to the Norton Hill Light Railway (Hall Farm, Old Church Road, Snettisham) by Mike Schumann

Rural Norfolk, northeast of London, is perhaps not the location most people would expect for a miniature railway inspired by the 760mm gauge railways of Yugoslavia.  However the author’s long term interest in this particular railway system and the suitability of the rolling stock for operator friendly modelling at quarter full size made it an obvious prototype when the time came to build a railway.

Construction of the 7¼inch gauge Norton Hill Light Railway commenced in 1986 following a move to a new house with adequate space for laying out a railway. However locomotive construction had started a few years earlier. The chosen prototype was No.2 an 0-4-4-0T Mallet preserved outside the military museum at Banja Luka in Bosnia. This had been measured and photographed in 1979 to produce a basic general arrangement drawing. However the absence of any remaining valve gear on the locomotive left a gap on the drawing.  It was the subsequent chance purchase of a reprinted 1903 Orenstein and Koppel catalogue that revealed that it was built by this manufacturer and had been fitted with this company’s patent valve gear.  The locomotive had been originally built in 1901 with the works number 892  for Otto Steinbeis’s forestry railway system and was O & K’s first attempt at building a Mallet locomotive. This was also the authors first attempt at building a model steam locomotive.

No 2, which was subsequently named “Kyra”, “Kupa” in Cyrillic, is built to miniature engineering standards rather than scale model standards. The objective being that the model looks like the original but internally is designed to operate with a minimum of maintenance.  Compared with the prototype the rear fuel bunker has been shortened and a tender provided to carry the driver as well as adequate fuel and water supplies. Whilst the original was a compound the model is built with all high pressure cylinders and a boiler pressure of  100psi.  The compensated springing and articulation on this engine work extremely well so that despite the long wheelbase it will negotiate 15 foot radius curves and extremely poorly aligned trackwork.

No 2 was not complete when railway construction was started in 1986 so a secondhand 0-4-0T quarry Hunslet was purchased and named “Angela M” after my wife, to provide initial motive power,  together with two Cromer White carriages.  As may be deduced from the railways name the land in this area is not flat. Starting from the terminal station alongside our house which has two platform tracks, a run round loop and a four track engine shed all leading off a turntable as well as a three track carriage shed, the railway falls immediately at 1 : 40  to cross a public footpath on the level.  Thereafter the gradient eases to 1 : 45 as the railway follows the edge of a field in a narrow wild flower reserve. The gradient changes to 1 : 80 with reverse curves just before crossing a 45ft long timber trestle viaduct that carries the railway over another public footpath and into woodland arriving at the only intermediate passing loop. Continuing to fall at 1 : 110 with a 120degree left hand curve the line enters a cutting. This is followed by a 200degree right hand curve that includes an 80 ft long tunnel. As the line straightens out after reversing direction the gradient steepens to 1 : 60 and subsequently the tracks divide for a balloon loop. Taking the left hand route the gradient steepens further to 1 : 45 as the railway crosses a five span 100ft long lattice steel viaduct, followed by 1 : 60 on the sharpest curve on the line at 50ft radius. Within this curve the gradient reverses as the line begins to climb again to reach the start of the loop.

Construction of the railway took place in annual stages and was completed in 1991 having reached an overall length of 1600ft. It was anticipated from the outset that at times it would be opened to the public so 12lbs/yd steel rail was laid, the lightest available at the time, in all areas except the terminal station. Here aluminium rail was employed.

When initially opened to the public to raise money for charity in 1988  “Kyra”, “Angela M” and a visiting locomotive and carriages provided the service.  It did not take long to realise that these engines, limited to hauling two carriages, were never the less having to work extremely hard to carry all the people who came for a ride.  At that stage they hauled the train down the hill and then pushed it up again without running round. The construction of a Bo-Bo diesel locomotive, based on JDZ class 740 and designed to haul at least four carriages, was therefore commissioned.  This helped a lot, but was not the total answer, since most people expressed a preference to ride on the steam train, given the choice.

To overcome the growing motive power problem and to provide locomotives that were adequately powerful for the railway an order was placed with TMA Engineering in Birmingham for the construction of a JDZ class 83 locomotive.  August Zopf of Club 760 in Austria had kindly furnished the general arrangement drawings for one of these engines and Bob Meanley, nowadays the chief engineer of Tyseley Locomotive Works, produced detailed drawings and oversaw the erection of the engine. The class 83, a mixed traffic 0-8-2 with a four wheel tender, was the most prolific design on the Yugoslav system with at least 182 examples built between 1903 and 1949 by different builders. This engine was completed in September 1991 and was a great success. This was followed in 1993 by the construction of a JDZ class 73 complete with Krauss Helmholtz trucks front and rear. The class 73, of which 23 were built between 1907 and 1913 is an express 2-6-2 with a four wheel tender. It was the first piston valved and superheated engine series built in Austria with later examples built in Hungary

To supplement the original two carriages five open goods wagons and one van with removable roof have been built by the author. All are based on JDZ goods stock, which had been photographed and measured at Arandjelovac, Serbia in 1979 after an interesting encounter with a hostile local chief of police. The seating is a mixture of individual seats and longitudinal bench seats. All carriages are fitted with air brakes. The two larger locomotives carry rechargeable batteries and an electric air pump. Currently consideration is being given to building further vehicles based on passenger carriages.

After ten years service the cast iron driving wheels of the class 83 were fitted with steel tyres. Unfortunately those on the class 73 did not survive quite as long as anticipated and failed on a test run half an hour before the final day of public running in 2002.  The two smaller engines were rapidly steamed and together hauled a four coach train all afternoon until on the penultimate run the grate on “Angela M” melted.  The one disadvantage of burning anthracite as a fuel is the damage done to grates

The railway operates for charity on three weekends a year, during the summer school holidays. Refreshment are provided as are various stalls selling produce to raise additional funds and games to amuse the adults and children. Good fun is had by all.   Two trains each of four carriages are operated with one train out on the line whilst the other is reloading with passengers. Each year the number of passengers carried by the railway increases so that now on an average weekend, with a reasonably slick operation, in excess of 1000 people are carried over two three hour periods. Since the class 83 is capable of hauling up to eight carriages and the class 73 seven carriages they are at the moment both working well within their capacity. The highlight however of a weekend for the volunteer drivers is operating a double headed train with all the carriages and laden with the weekends helpers. Sitting a little back in the train watching and listening to its progress it is easy to transport the imagination back to Bosnia. That was however the authors objective in the first place.

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Kite Festival Plans 22 August 2010 – 9am to 5pm

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
Hunstanton Kite Festival

Hunstanton Kite Festival by Frank Gogerty

This year’s Hunstanton Kite Festival (the 14th) and Classic Car & Bike Rally, organised by Hunstanton Rotary, takes place at Smithdon High School as in the past and will offer the usual high standard of professional kite displays throughout the day (subject to wind!!).  Several local kite clubs and traders will attend the event and space is being set aside for visitors to fly their own kites and receive instruction from the experts.

As ever, there is also something for the children including fun fair, face painting and entertainers to keep them amused throughout the day and a craft fair too.  The usual array of trade stands including refreshments will be on offer with numerous classic cars and bikes to admire.

Tickets are £5 per adult, £3 per child – a family ticket is £12 and car parking is FREE!!!!

If you need further information or wish to book tickets ring John on 01485 535333.  If you wish to make trade enquiries please ring Ronan on 01485 541250, for craft stalls enquiries ring James on 01485 540950 and classic cars or bike enquiries should be made to Viv on 01485 542915.

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BBC Blast hits Hunstanton

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
Local work experience crew

Local work experience crew - working from left to right Jack Purling, Ceara East, Anna-Marie Ramm, Zach Stanford, Beth Jex

Report and Photos by Stella Gooch

The BBC Blast team were in Hunstanton 8-10 July for three days of exciting free workshops aimed at opening up a world of opportunities and possibilities to our local youngsters within today’s media.  The programme lined up for the three days was extremely comprehensive and I would even go so far as to say inspiring for young minds.  I was lucky enough to get a personal tour by Matt Gallop who is the Lead Facilitiator for the BBC Blast Workshops where he has worked since 2007.

Matt explained that Elli Chapman was the local organiser responsible for recruiting the local work experience team (who are unpaid) who are a key part of the success of the event.  The work experience recruits get a great opportunity to work with the media and gain an essential grounding in what its like to deal with people at all levels in a dynamic and ever-changing industry.  Matt went on to say that there are 250 creative trainees (who start on expenses for the first month and then are paid a basic salary for 2 months) across the BBC as a result of BBC Blast within respected BBC institutions such as “Newsround” and radio.  Matt also pointed out that BBC Blast had awarded bursaries to young filmmakers at the joint BBC Blast and BFI Future Film Festival, with the opportunity to enter their film for the chance to win at the new BBC BLAST hosted BAFTA. The Future Film Festival has been jointly run by the BFI and Blast annually since 2008 and offers young people the chance to engage with a range of industry professionals, and take their first steps into the film and television industry.  It is also worth mentioning that BBC BLAST TOUR won the 2009 Outside Event Project of the year, and their work experience scheme won the 2010 Public Sector Work Experience Scheme of the Year – not to forget the Blast website which has just been awarded a 2010 Webby Award.  

Local crew film the Showcase

Local crew film the Showcase

The Events Organiser for BBC Blast, Elli Chapman, who runs an events business management company in Norwich called Culture Works had spent 12 weeks working with the local schools to help put this event together and had previously worked with BBC Blast in Yarmouth in 2009.

The BBC Blast tour runs from April to November and has been running for 4 years.  Regrettably it has just been announced that the 2010 BBC Blast tour is going to be the last one owing to cost cuts at the BBC which is a real shame.  In case you want to try and catch the remainder of this final tour check out the programme below:

July 2010
15 – 17 July, Blast in Paignton – Torbay Leisure Centre (England – South West)
22 – 24 July, Blast in Penzance – Wharfside Car Park (England – South West)
31 July – 01 August, Blast in Bristol – Harbour Festival – Mud Dock (England – South West)

August 2010
05 – 07 August, Blast in Southampton – Southampton (England – South West)
19 – 21 August, Blast in Whitehaven – The Harbour (England – North)
26 – 28 August, Blast in Ayr – The Low Green (Scotland)

September 2010
10 – 12 September, Blast in London – Thames Festival – Southbank Centre Square (England – East)
16 – 18 September, Blast in Perth – Perth Concert Hall (Scotland)
23 – 25 September, Blast in Southend – Village Green Festival – Chalkwell Park (England – East)
30 September – 02 October, Blast in Enniskillen – Enniskillen Castle (Northern Ireland)

October 2010
02 – 02 October, Blast & V&A – Big Create – London Fashion Event (England – South East)
07 – 09 October, Blast in Armagh – Armagh Cricket Club, Mall West (Northern Ireland)
13 – 15 October, Blast in Newtown – Coleg Powys (Wales)
21 – 23 October, Blast in Crawley – Memorial Gardens (England – South East)

November 2010
10 – 12 November, Blast in Wythenshawe – The Forum (England – North)

Compere for Showcase, Ryan Howes

Compere for Showcase, Ryan Howes

Outlined below are the types of creative workshops that are being run here and you will see that it is a real shame that this programme has to be cut like this when it seems to offer so much inspiration for the personal development of our youth.

Hunstanton area teens aged 13 – 19 were  invited to apply for workshops involving art, dance, film, music, games, writing or fashion and most of the workshops had been filled before the event started on 8 July.  BBC Blast aims to inspire and motivate young people to develop their creative talents with free multi-media workshops and showcase events for teenagers. Participants can use the latest technology, share ideas, and learn from media-industry professionals. Young people can try their hand at workshops on Filmmaking, Fashion, Digital Media, Gaming, Dance and Photo Journalism!  Here in Hunstanton they had the opportunity to learn how to create their own radio show, create and implement ringtones to their mobiles, using morphing software on their photos and many other subjects concerning the media.   The  youngsters were also introduced to filmmaking techniques with tips from an expert and encouraged to be part of the scripting, planning and shooting process.  They were also able to work with Jim Davies, former member of Pitchshifter, session musician with The Prodigy to create the best electric guitar sound, play FX.

Some youngsters were invited to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of the successful BBC soap “Eastenders” by making and recording their own scene inspired by classic archive footage.  Others got to work with a leading dance choreographer to learn how to choreograph and perform their own dance pieces and there was even an opportunity to learn how the special TV magic works using special effects  – the illusion of floating in space, falling through the sky or sitting on a desert island.

And it doesn’t stop there!  Learning how  to find a news story and report on it live on the radio, action photography, video mixing, music journalism, learning how to be a scratch DJ (and become part of the Blast Hunstanton Scratch Band!), working with experienced animators to learn some of the modelling skills behind making an animated film were also part of the programme .   “Be a Radio DJ” locally themed radio programme to be showcased on Blast’s very own radio station Blast Out Loud enabled the participants to report on local events, gigs and issues and find out how to put them together into a package suitable for radio and the web.   Creating a hit single, learning the classic breakdance from a breakdance pro, delivering a slick piece to camera and recording a screen test were just some of the interesting workshops available to our youngsters during the three days.

For those unable to gain a place on the numerous pre-booked workshops there was a “Discovery Drop In Area” allowing taster sessions in everything from photo morphing to creating a comic, and playing Guitar Hero Live Electronic Dance Music Laptop Performance.  Those who are already making their own music  were encouraged to bring their own clips and arrangements and learn how to transform them into an exciting live set using the cutting edge Ableton Live performance tool.

Anyone wanting to find out about a career in the music business had the opportunity to meet top industry professionals in a Q & A session with Rick Lennox (A & R for major labels / band manager), Wendy Roby (Music Journalist), Ian Johnson (Access to Music Principal) and Adrian Cooke (BBC Norfolk Introducing Presenter/owner of Hungry Audio record label).

Sam & Becky singing "Here Comes the Sun"

Sam & Becky singing "Here Comes the Sun"

I was given a ticket to the BBC Blast Showcase on Saturday afternoon to see the best work created by young people from Blast in Hunstanton!There were also performances from up and coming young artists.  The “Guerrilla Physicality Theatre” Workshop run by the physical theatre company “Tangled Feet” taught the process of improvisation and play and encouraged the creation of a piece of original physical theatre.  This was part of the line up at the BBC Blast Showcase that I was lucky enough to see.   (The Stage is quoted as saying: “Probably the most accessible and original company working in the UK today…a must see” on Tangled Feet.)  Having seen the final results of their workshop from BBC Blast I can only agree.

The Showcase was compered by Ryan Howes who is part of the “Encore Dancers” team.  The “Encore Dancers” from Sheringham opened up the Showcase with a lively dance routine and were followed by Sam and Becky (also from Sheringham) who played and sang “Here Comes the Sun” on guitars (as a duo) and what a pleasure they were too.  Sebastian introduced his film called “Lost and Found” to the Showcase audience.  The film was made without any prior experience and was completed in 8 hours over a 2 day period at BBC Blast using Hunstanton as the backdrop.  The quality was excellent and it was hard to believe it took Sebastian – a complete novice – such a short time to put together.  “Spot” an animation film (along the lines of Wallace and Gromit) by Daniel – another complete novice -  was introduced and played to us.  Again the quality was every bit as good as you would hope to see on TV.  Well done to our budding young film and animation creators of the future!

Billy the Kids "Rockin All Over the World"

Billy the Kids "Rockin All Over the World"

Next up were “Billy the Kidds” – a band of three youths and a girl guitarist who came together in March this year.  They entertained us with “Rockin’ all Over the World” and were great to listen to – hard to resist not bopping to though!  A photo montage (also nicely put together) was then screened to the audience with the sounds of Paige Jordan of Smithdon High School filling the air.  Paige had come along to see the Lifestyles Extreme Sports Festival and had brought her guitar with her and thought she would “drop in” to see what BBC Blast was all about and was invited to record the soundtrack to the photo montage which was compiled in just 20 minutes.  Talk about “opportunity knocks”!

The "Jimmy Rockit" Band

The "Jimmy Rockit" Band

Finally, the Showcase rounded off with the sounds of local up and coming band “Jimmy Rockit”.  “Jimmy Rockit” is a 4 piece indie guitar band based in King’s Lynn, Norfolk.   The band members are from Heacham and Kings Lynn and is made up of three brothers, Zach Stanford (lead guitar) Harrison Stanford (bass and lead vocals) and Frazer Stanford (drums) and a cousin Bradley Carr (rhythm guitar) and have played together since September 2007.    Young Frazer Stanford is just 11 years old and can hardly see over the top of the drums – bless him – but he is no lightweight.  Frazer was well into the groove with the band and obviously takes his role very seriously.  The lads did a great job of rousing the crowd with “I’m a Believer” and “I’ll Walk 500 Miles” and boy do they rock.  I am  now a fan!

11 yr old Frazer from "Jimmy Rockit"

11 yr old Frazer from "Jimmy Rockit"

The band is now highly experienced in a very short time at entertaining at numerous functions ranging from wedding receptions, charity balls, birthdays and pub gigs to getting the sons of Lord Greville Howard dancing at their local!   They have won the Prince’s Trust battle of the bands competition and opened the “Oscars” celebration at the King’s Lynn Corn Exchange in front of 800 people, supporting Wilko Johnson at the King’s Lynn Arts Centre and entertained at the Snettfest music festival and Lifestyles Extreme watersports event during 2009.  This year “Jimmy Rockit”  have performed in front of 1,500 teachers at the pre-gala dinner for sports colleges across the UK at Telford’s conference centre.

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Be a vocal local in Hunny 13 July

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

The people of Hunstanton will get the chance to find out how to have their say when the Vocal Local roadshow rolls into The Green on Tuesday, 13 July.

The How to be a Vocal Local campaign aims to show how easy it is for people to have their say, and highlight how ordinary people who care about their communities are making things happen and making a difference.

In Hunstanton, representatives from town and borough councils, the West Norfolk Voluntary and Community Action group, Your Voice and the Police Safer Neighbourhood Action Panels will be on hand to explain to people how easy it is to get involved in their community.

On the day, a mobile video recording studio, disguised as a traditional black cab, will visit the town between 2pm and 5pm, giving people the chance to record a message saying what they love above the town and what one thing they would improve if they could.

Cllr Roy Johnston, Borough Council Cabinet Member for Performance, said: “So many people are passionate about the area in which they live and have great ideas about what they would do to make a difference.

“This campaign is designed to highlight the myriad opportunities that exist for people to get involved in influencing local decisions, whether that’s by becoming a councillor or a school governor, by taking part in a survey or focus group, by volunteering as a trustee or committee member of a local organisation or simply giving feedback on services provided.”

Daniel Cox, Chairman of the Norfolk County Strategic Partnership (NCSP) which is running the campaign, said it was vital that people had their say to help shape the places where they live.

“I have spoken to some truly inspirational people who have really helped change people’s lives, and what they’ve all said is that once they knew how to get involved there was no stopping them,” he added.

“By getting involved in decision-making you really can make a difference.”

A Vocal Local website gives people ideas on the different ways to get involved, from working with neighbours on a local issue, or joining a community group, to giving feedback to councils, police or the local NHS.

A radio advertising campaign will run until late September, encouraging people to become a Vocal Local.

Caroline Money, County Strategic Partnership Officer, added: “There are dozens of different ways you can be a Vocal Local, depending on what interests you, how much time you have and how much or little you want to get involved.

“People can give from just a few hours a month to full-time work, but many employers support vocal locals with time off work for public duties. What’s more, for some of these roles, organisations can pay expenses for travel or childcare so you are not out-of-pocket for taking part.”

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In Bloom teams have high hopes in West Norfolk

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

 

Hunstanton In Bloom Awards

Hunstanton In Bloom Awards to Date

As last minute preparations are completed for this year’s Anglia In Bloom, hopes are high that RHS In Bloom judges scheduled to arrive in Hunstanton (13 July and 3 August) , King’s Lynn (22 July) and Downham Market (20 July) will be impressed.

This year, alongside the usual schedule of immaculately crafted floral displays and revitalised community spaces, the judges will be invited to explore the ‘wilder side’ of the borough as they take a tour of Boston Square in Hunstanton and meet the bugs that call it home.  The Boston Square Bug Hunt, launched in June this year, invites people to take part in recording the wildlife that they spot in Boston Square Sensory Park, one of Hunstanton’s public gardens.  Spotter cards are available at the Hunstanton Information Centre and it is free to take part.

The Bug Hunt is just one of the projects that the West Norfolk in Bloom teams, which are led by the borough and town councils and include a host of community groups, residents, business representatives and partners, have been involved in this year. The teams have been busy since last autumn clearing, planting and engaging with residents to create imaginative planting and landscaping schemes and to find innovative and attractive solutions to vandalism, graffiti and waste.

The borough has been involved in the Anglia in Bloom competition since 2005. During this time each of the towns has seen improvements to the quality of the public space and has made year on year progress in the awards. Last year Hunstanton scooped a Gold award, Heacham village (a newcomer to the event) was awarded a Silver award and King’s Lynn and Downham Market both gained very respectable Silver Gilt awards.

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